by Susan Mussi

MAJOLICA: 3 - Decorating

This section show one of the most important parts of the Majolica method of painting; the brush strokes and the variations and intensities of a color.
On these tiles only one color is used, blue of different strengths. First the outlines are painted then the different shades of blue are added. The movement of the brush strokes and the overlapping of shades gives form to the design. When finished, the glaze-base and decoration are fired together and vitrify at 980ºC., which turns the glaze-base into an opaque layer of glass, preventing the bisque from being porous and accentuating the colors.

THEFOLLOWINGPHOTOSSHOWSTAGES OF WORKING ON THISDESIGN OF 9 TILES.
In the last photo,where the tile is fired, you can see some superb painting and how important the brush strokes are, they give form and strength.

Note: The name Majolica at one time covered everything decorated with this method but things have changed and now it is known as in-glaze. The following sections Majolica: 4a to Majolica: 4g explain different ways of using it and Majolica: 5a to Majolica: 5j are all linked and go through the method of decorating step by step.